V Eurovision Americas Song Contest
The V''' '''Eurovision Americas Song Contest is the 5th edition of the monthly Eurovision Americas Song Contest. It is set to take place in Montevideo, Uruguay, following Micky Cohen's win at the previous contest in Viña del Mar, Chile, with the song «''Warship''». It is the first time that the contest is hosted in Uruguay, four editions after the country made its debut. Organised by the Americas Broadcasting Union and host broadcaster Televisión Nacional de Uruguay, the contest is set to be held at the Montevideo's Antel Arena, and consists of two semi-finals and the final on 30 September 2019. Thirty-two countries have confirmed their intentions to participate in the contest, including Belize, which would return after it withdrew from the 4th contest. Another four countries, including Caribbean France, Dominica, Ecuador, The Phillipines and Trinidad and Tobago, have announced, so far, will debut on the 5th contest. Location Host City For more details on the host city, see Montevideo. Montevideo (Spanish pronunciation: ''monteβiˈðeo) is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of 201 square kilometres (78 sq mi). The southernmost capital city in the Americas, Montevideo is situated on the southern coast of the country, on the northeastern bank of the Río de la Plata. Described as a "vibrant, eclectic place with a rich cultural life", and "a thriving tech center and entrepreneurial culture", Montevideo is the seat of the administrative headquarters of Mercosur and ALADI, Latin America’s leading trade blocs, a position that entailed comparisons to the role of Brussels in Europe The 2017 Mercer's report on quality of life, rated Montevideo first in Latin America, a rank the city has consistently held since 2005. As of 2010, Montevideo was the 19th largest city economy in the continent and 9th highest income earner among major cities. In 2019, it has a projected GDP of $47.7 billion, with a per capita of $27,542. Montevideo hosted every match during the first FIFA World Cup, in 1930. '''Venue' For more details on the Venue, see Antel Arena. The Antel Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena that is located in the neighborhood of Villa Española, Montevideo, Uruguay. The arena has a capacity of 15,000 people for concerts, and 10,000 people for basketball games. The arena is owned by ANTEL, after they reached an agreement with the city of Montevideo, which granted them the rights to the arena for 30 years. Bidding phase During the week before the Contest, the Televisión Nacional de Uruguay, made a list of potential cities and venues in Uruguay to host the Contest. The final list was formed by different stadiums and fair centres of three cities of the country. On 23 August 2019, TNU announced the capital city, Montevideo, as the host, with the Antel Arena as the selected venue for the contest. Participants The following countries have expressed their provisional interest in participating in the contest or confirmed that their expected national selection process would take place: Semi-finals Allocation draw The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on 31 August 2019. The thirty-five semi-finalists had been allocated into six pots, based on historical voting patterns. XXX countries participated in both of each semi-finals. Drawing from different pots helps to reduce the chance of so-called neighbourly voting and increases suspense in the semi-finals. The draw also determined the semi-final that each of the five automatic finalist countries (host country Uruguay and the previous edition top 5 countries Brazil, Cayman Islands, Canada, and the United States) would broadcast and vote in. =